LEAGUE RULES

Section 1

The game

Item	Rule
Players	Modified and JV divisions play 6v6 — five field players and a goalkeeper; a team may start with a minimum of five. Varsity divisions play 5v5 — four field players and a goalkeeper; minimum of four to start.
Game length	Two 20-minute halves, running clock, with a short halftime. The clock stops only for injuries.
Substitutions	On the fly, unlimited, at your own bench. The player leaving must be at the touchline before the substitute enters.
Restarts	Kick-ins in place of throw-ins. Goal kicks and corners as normal. Opponents give three yards on every restart.
Goalkeeper	Distribution by throw or pass. No punting. Keepers may not handle a deliberate pass back from a teammate.
Slide tackles	Not permitted anywhere on the field. Keepers may go to ground inside their own area to make a save.
Offside	None.
Fouls	Direct free kicks. A second yellow card or a straight red means the rest of that game plus the next game.

The referee’s decisions on the field are final. Questions about a rule go to the league by email after the game, not to the referee during it.

Section 2

Rosters & divisions

• Divisions: Modified Girls and Modified Boys (grades 7–8), JV Boys (grades 9–10), Varsity Boys (grades 11–12), and Varsity Girls (grades 9–12 — all high school girls play in one division). The boys’ and Modified divisions hold four teams, first come, first served, with a waitlist beyond that; Varsity Girls holds six. Enter the division where the majority of your roster sits.
• Playing up: a player one grade below the division may play up to stay with their school or community group. Playing down is not permitted.
• Roster size: no maximum. The league recommends two full lines plus a goalie — eleven players in the 6v6 divisions, nine in the 5v5 divisions — substituting whole lines, so every player plays half of every game.
• Rosters lock after week two. Adding a player after that takes an email to the league before they step on the field.
• Coach of record: the one name and email address given at registration. All league communication — schedule, access code, standings, notices — goes to that address only.

Section 3

Equipment

• Shin guards for every player, every game.
• Flat-soled or turf shoes only. No cleats of any kind on the indoor surface.
• Matching shirts if your team has them; bring both colors if you have two. Color conflict on game day is settled with league pinnies at the field.
• No jewelry. Casts and braces at the referee’s discretion.
• Game balls are provided by the league.

Section 4

Standings, tiebreakers & playoffs

Points: three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss. Standings are published with the schedule and updated weekly.

Tiebreakers, in order:

• Head-to-head record between the tied teams
• Goal difference, capped at five per game
• Goals scored, capped at five per game
• Fewest cards
• Coin flip, performed by the league with both coaches notified

Playoffs: on your division’s standing day and times. Four-team divisions play two rounds — semifinals (#1 v #4, #2 v #3 by the standings), then a finals night or day with the 3rd-place game followed by the championship — so every team plays both playoff dates. Varsity Girls (six teams) opens with quarterfinals: seeds 1 and 2 earn a bye, #3 v #6 and #4 v #5 play in; winners join the semifinals, and the quarterfinal losers are offered a 5th-place game on semifinal night — play it or pass, their call. Playoff games tied at full time go straight to a three-round shootout, sudden death after that. The goal-difference cap exists so nobody has a reason to run up a score late in the season.

Section 5

Waivers & conduct

Three agreements, all handled up front:

• The league participation agreement and the code of conduct — both accepted by the coach of record at registration, on behalf of the team, its players, and its sideline. Nothing extra to fill out later.
• The FLX Turf facility waiver — one per player, completed by a parent or guardian on the FLX Turf website, here. FLX Turf requires this of every athlete in the building, in every sport.

Coaches of record confirm every rostered player’s FLX Turf waiver is in before week one. A player without one on file doesn’t take the field — no exceptions, because that’s what the insurance actually says.

Section 6

The facility

• Address: FLX Turf, 2625 County Rd 22, Canandaigua, NY 14424.
• Access: the building uses a door code, sent to coaches of record with the schedule. Don’t post it publicly — it changes if it leaks.
• Arrival: teams should be in the building 15 minutes before their game time. The schedule is built back-to-back, so games start on time whether or not everyone is there.
• Water only on the turf. Food and other drinks stay off the playing surface.
• Teams clear their bench area after their game so the next two teams can come straight on.

Section 7

Division minimums & payment

• A division runs only if four or more teams are committed when registration closes.
• If a division is short, affected teams are offered the nearest sensible placement — usually one division up.
• Registration fees are non-refundable. Payment and cancellation terms are part of the registration agreement accepted on TeamSnap.
• A team that withdraws forfeits its remaining games and its fee.

Section 8

Conduct

This is a rec league. The referees are often young people from our own community, and the CASL zero-tolerance policy applies to every player, coach and spectator in the building. One warning, then a coach or spectator is asked to leave; a second incident in a season is a conversation with the league about whether the team continues.

Questions about anything on this page: use the form at the bottom of the league page, and it goes straight to league leadership.